10 hot tips for growing your deposit

There are only 2 ways to increase the money you can save for your deposit. You can increase your income or decrease your expenses – the really smart do both.

Here’s 10 tips to help you decrease your expenses.

• Shop for cheaper power, phone charges, insurance and banking costs. A bit of research can save you hundreds over a year
• Plan your menus for the week. Shop with a list and shop for specials. Check out “home brands” too – you’ll be amazed at the savings
• Put all your small savings to work straight away by making regular deposits into your savings account as soon as you finish your shopping and work out how much you’ve saved
• Start small but start. Buy one less café coffee a day, change to cold water washing, turn off lights, leave the car at home and save the money
• Think second hand. When you need (rather than just want) to buy a larger item consider buying it second hand and bank the difference
• Learn to bargain. Ask for a discount when you pay by eftpos or cash. Treat the price as a starting point not the final cost
• Try to shop only when the goods you need are on sale but don’t buy extras just because they are on sale
• Be creative. See your deposit as a mosaic made up of hundreds of small extra amounts that you can save as well as the larger amount you have committed to weekly or monthly
• Save power. Research what is costing you the most power (hot water or heating?) and reduce their use as much as you can
• If you have friends who are also saving for a house run a competition to see who can save the most in extra savings for a month or several months

Give these tips a go and be surprised at how easy it is to save a bit more and how good you feel when you know you are moving closer to your dream.

In the next post I will share some tips for increasing your income.

This article comes from Robyn Forryan of Property Magic

Robyn has been in the real estate industry for more than 20 years. She has sold houses, rented houses, traded houses and now she is doing what she loves best – helping house buyers. Because of her varied experiences her advice is practical and honest as well as being independent because she is not a real estate agent but a house buyer’s consultant. She keeps her community informed about the property market, gives tips on how to buy a house and tries to help buyers with the techniques that will help them secure their dream home at the best possible price and with the least possible problems.